COTTAGES TO OFFER SEASIDE RELAXATION FOR TROOPS

4 dedicated, kicking off plan for 24 wheelchair-friendly getaways at San Onofre

Civilians and military personnel gathered last week on a beachtop bluff at the north end of Camp Pendleton to dedicate several cottages meant to offer respite to troops — especially the wounded.

The four disabled-friendly cottages at San Onofre Beach are part of a community-funded venture known as the Pendleton Cottages Project.

The goal is to build 24 cottages and replace the 30-year-old emergency trailers that were converted into beach cabins. The trailers were beyond repair and lacked accessibility for the disabled, making them impractical for injured service members to use.

The replacement project — spearheaded by La Jolla resident Bob Clelland — has raised $805,000 for the first nine cottages.

Five two-bedroom units were installed in June, and then four one-bedroom units were officially turned over to base officials Tuesday. These cottages, painted in pastel shades of blue, green and yellow, stand in stark contrast to the old gray trailers with holes in their siding.

“Without the collective efforts of everyone working together, we could not have moved forward,” Marine Brig. Gen. John Bullard said before cutting the ribbon during Tuesday’s dedication ceremony.

Each cottage costs about $85,000, plus $6,000 for furnishings — bringing the total tab to nearly $2 million by the time the project is completed.

Community members from San Diego and Orange counties have banded together to see the project through.

“It’s about giving back to the military who have lost limbs and lives and time with their families to save the country,” said donor Mary Ann Blair.

She funded six of the nine cottages now available for use. Two were dedicated in honor of military medical personnel and veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The other four were named for Blair’s father, her aunt and three uncles; the four men served in World War II.

Each cottage has a plaque outside with the name of the honoree and one inside with a photograph of that person. As Clelland read the names of those honored Tuesday, those individuals’ family members wiped away tears.

One of the newest cottages was dedicated by Anita Sumoski in memory of her husband, Robert, who served in the Air Force. Another was dedicated by friends and family in memory of Capt. Robert Hanson, who served in the Navy for 28 years.

“(Hanson) took care of his men, and this is a tribute to that,” said Hanson’s brother, Wayne, also a Navy man.

Clelland, an investment adviser and past board member of the San Diego Foundation, started the Pendleton Cottages Project in 2009, after he was asked by Jan Wells and her husband, Tom Hurt of San Juan Capistrano, to help raise money to replace the decrepit trailers with newly manufactured homes.

Wells and Hurt funded the first replacement cottage, and Hurt still serves as one of the group’s volunteers.

Over the years, Clelland has been working with a handful of volunteers and the base’s Marine Corps Community Services.

The project group is receiving donations through the nonprofit San Diego Nice Guys Victory Fund, which provides support for wounded Marines and their families.